Thursday, April 30, 2009

So this is your last chance - for a while - to partake in some of the best people watching in South Florida. And while you're there why not grab brunch or lunch at some of Lincoln Road's fine restaurants like The Cafe at Books & Books?

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Tulsa. by Larry Clark. Lustrum Press, 1971. Orginal limited edition paperback in very good condition...This is not the Grove Press reprint! Rare-book dealers sell copies of this book for more than a thousand dollars. -$600.00

Andre Kertesz, Diary of Light, Diary of Light, 1912-1985. Photographs by André Kertész. Foreword by Cornell Capa. Essay by Hal Hinson. Edited by Susan Harder with Hiroji Kubota. Aperture, New York, 1987. 206 pp. First English edition limited to 3000 copies. Clothbound with photo-illustrated dust jacket. Folio. 152 black-and-white tritone reproductions. Includes detailed chronology. Dust jacket is scuffed; but cloth cover and book are bright, fine, and very clean copy. A truly magnificent book. -$550.00(a copy of this book sold for $950 five years ago.)

Ansel Adams-Yosemite and the Range of Light, New York Graphic Society, Little Brown TIME/LIFE books Date of Publication: 1981 Binding: Hard Cover, Signed by Author ,Ansel Adams, SIGNED special edition with signature of photographer on Bookplate with date 1981 Carmel, California -$250.00

Edward Weston, Fifty Years, by Ben Maddow, New York , Aperture, 1st, 1973, Book: Very Good, no DJ, 284 pages, beautifully reproduced plates of the photographer's work. Large format -$150.00

Self Portrait USA by David Douglas Duncan, Abrams 1969, hardcover. Turquoise cloth binding with political symbols on frontboard in gold. Title on spine in gold. Photo illustrated endpapers and text pages are crisp and clean. Double page photo illustrated title page. The 1968 Republican convention in Miami and Democratic convention in Chicago are covered by a legedary phototojournalist. A classic example of political photo reportage. Over 325 fantastic photographs. Nice tight binding. -$125.00

Mrs. David Bailey, by David Bailey (photographer) Rizzoli 1980. Black and white photographic tribute by a legendary fashion photographer to his model wife. DJ. Good tight binding. $40.00

Monday, April 27, 2009

Veteran Miami Dade prosector Michael Von Zamft is blaming a weekend shooting that wounded five young men on CBS4's Jim DeFede says Miami New Times staff writer Tim Elfrink:

[T]he prosecutor working on the January case -- a veteran of the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office -- says he believes the latest attack was spurred by a news story by reporter Jim DeFede that aired Thursday on CBS4. Based on a description by an anonymous source, it clearly showed the family's address and criticized witnesses for not coming forward. "It is my personal opinion that this [Sunday] shooting was triggered by the DeFede piece," says Michael Von Zamft, an assistant state attorney. "Certainly that cannot be ruled out."

The New Times story doesn't make clear why Von Zamft singled out DeFede, since the mother, Lasonya Mills, also spoke on camera with other Miami TV news outlets.

Circulation figures released today for the nation's newspapers are "showing that the largest metros continue to shed daily and Sunday circulation -- now at a record rate."

This also holds true for the Miami Herald. Editor and Publisher magazine reports, "daily circulation at The Miami Herald fell 15.8% to 202,122. Sunday is down 13.1% to 270,166."

However that reported daily number of 202,122 is slightly at odds with a Herald story from a month ago when the Herald's Andres Viglucci reported, "[el Nuevo Herald] circulation has been holding relatively steady as The Miami Herald's -- now at around 190,000 daily and 275,000 Sunday -- has plunged."

Last night I commented that it's been a while since we heard anything about the Herald's plans to add a blog aggregator feature to their website.

Today I received this email:

We're the ones building the Herald's local blog aggregator. I build the database of local blogs by hand and right now we have about 200 or so on the list. I am hoping to vastly expand that. I still have a bunch more blogrolls to go through as well as the usual blog search engines, but if you can point me to any resources that will let me be as complete as possible, I'd appreciate it.

Also, I noticed you linked to our site with the Knoxville daily, we also have them at www.blognetnews.com/bgdailynews and blognetwork.expressmilwaukee.com and we're working on another one with Memphis. If you want to take a look at how those sites work, I'd value any suggestions or observations you have.

I am a big believer in the importance of the local blogosphere. For more than three years I have been preaching that every newspaper should be the place to find out what is being said in the local blogosphere about any topic as well as providing local blog search. It has been an uphill battle, but I think the Herald deserves some credit. They called me and they pulled the trigger when plenty of other papers have dithered endlessly.

If you want to post this invitation on your blog, feel free to make my email address public too. Folks who want to be included should send simply send me an email with their url and Miami in the subject line.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

"Bill, Please be so kind as to take me off your email list. I make it a point to keep up with informed and responsible criticism of the paper, which is invaluable. I can see that's not your interest when you find fault with virtually anything this dedicated, capable staff takes on. Anders"

Looks like the pressure is getting to him.

My response:

Thanks for your note Anders.

I call things the way I see 'em.

However you are mistaken on one point.

I don't always find fault with everything the Herald does.

Just when you screw up.

I guess you didn't take the time to read my post where I TRIED to call your paper and alert you to a major breaking story here on Miami Beach on April 6th only to be rebuffed by one of your editors.

While poking around the Internet today I found a couple of items that pit bloggers against newspapers....which reminded me that the Herald still hasn't lived up to its promise to add a blog aggregator feature to its website. But more on that in the later.

What your paper left out of the stories today is that one of the journalists instrumental in Farrell's win, director of photography Luis Rios, will leave the Herald forever on Friday.

Rios was a victim of the latest round of Herald job cuts when his position was eliminated by you. Another Herald staffer who helped put together Farrell's Pulitzer entry - photographer John VanBeekum - has also been let go by you.

As someone with more than just a passing knowledge of the inner workings of the paper, I wonder what exactly one has to do to keep his job at your paper?

It looks as though if you work hard and bring honor to the paper you get fired.

So please excuse me Anders if I get a little queasy when I read your assurances that the Herald is here to stay. You may believe that but as I look at your face in the video above, your expression tells me something else.

And I wonder why there aren't more people on the fifth floor like Humberto Castelló, who resigned last month from El Nuevo Herald rather than stay and watch the destruction of his paper?

None of this is meant to take away anything from Pat Farrell's stunning work. But as you know, newspapering is a team effort.

I'm saddened to see the departure of part of that team. And sorry that in your eloquent newsroom speech yesterday, you didn't even have the spine to acknowledge their contribution to Farrell's win...or the paper.

UPDATE:I spoke with Farrell by phone briefly this afternoon and asked him a few questions:

Did he think winning journalism's most prestigious award would change his life?

In what way he asked?

Well, I responded, maybe you'll be asked to speak to different groups.

Farrell responded that would only happen once. "After they hear me speak, I won't be asked to return," he said with a chuckle. Farrell also allowed that he doesn't have a "huge ego."

Today's announcement wasn't a total surprise.

He'd been tipped he might win and said that his parents drove down from Orlando to join him in the newsroom when the 3pm announcement was made. Also with Farrell was his wife Jodi and their two daughters, Annie, 10 and Lucy 8.

I asked him if he thought today of Franz Samedi, the grief stricken father he'd photographed clutching the body of his dead daughter in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

"He's hard to forget," said Farrell. "Those images are seared into my memory."

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Andre Kertesz, Diary of Light, Diary of Light, 1912-1985. Photographs by André Kertész. Foreword by Cornell Capa. Essay by Hal Hinson. Edited by Susan Harder with Hiroji Kubota. Aperture, New York, 1987. 206 pp. First English edition limited to 3000 copies. Clothbound with photo-illustrated dust jacket. Folio. 152 black-and-white tritone reproductions. Includes detailed chronology. Dust jacket is scuffed; but cloth cover and book are bright, fine, and very clean copy. A truly magnificent book. -$550.00(a copy of this book sold for $950 five years ago.)

Ansel Adams-Yosemite and the Range of Light, New York Graphic Society, Little Brown TIME/LIFE books Date of Publication: 1981 Binding: Hard Cover, Signed by Author ,Ansel Adams, SIGNED special edition with signature of photographer on Bookplate with date 1981 Carmel, California -$250.00

Edward Weston, Fifty Years, by Ben Maddow, New York , Aperture, 1st, 1973, Book: Very Good, no DJ, 284 pages, beautifully reproduced plates of the photographer's work. Large format -$150.00

Self Portrait USA by David Douglas Duncan, Abrams 1969, hardcover. Turquoise cloth binding with political symbols on frontboard in gold. Title on spine in gold. Photo illustrated endpapers and text pages are crisp and clean. Double page photo illustrated title page. The 1968 Republican convention in Miami and Democratic convention in Chicago are covered by a legedary phototojournalist. A classic example of political photo reportage. Over 325 fantastic photographs. Nice tight binding. -$125.00

Mrs. David Bailey, by David Bailey (photographer) Rizzoli 1980. Black and white photographic tribute by a legendary fashion photographer to his model wife. DJ. Good tight binding. $40.00

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

UPDATED Thursday at 12:30pm: I contacted the U.S. Coast Guard 7th District Public Affairs section this afternoon.

Petty Officer Nick Ameen tells me that the appearance of their chopper last night in Biscayne Bay between Star Island and Miami Beach was just a "training exercise." Ameen said that this is something they do all the time. "That way we're ready."

Ameen also tells me that he's received quite a few calls about last night's exercise.

photo by John Fisher

A Coast Guard HH-65 Dauphin helicopter (large circle) hovers about 40 or 50 feet over the water off Miami Beach (at 11th Street and West Avenue) and Star Island Wednesday night.

The chopper arrived at about 8pm and stayed on scene for about an hour in a steady hover, shining its searchlight into the water. A police boat (small circle) was in the water below. The steady whine of the chopper's turbines prompted many high rise residents to gawk at the scene and more than a few of them to flood Channel 7's switchboard.

Consider this story on Miami Beach cops collecting DNA from school kids. The Herald's Jennifer Lebovich explains that police believe that having a child's DNA can help them should a child go missing.

Lebovich fails to offer up any counterpoint such as the fact that there's a probably enough DNA in a child's bedroom or bathroom should the unthinkable happen.

And she never even touches on the fears that some civil libertarians have about government collection of too much personal data on citizens.

Instead of real reporting she offers up these cutesy lines:

[Officer Phil Elmore] gets ready to rub the two plastic swabs on the inside of her cheek and take a sample of her DNA.

''It'll tickle and you can giggle, but don't close your mouth,'' Elmore told the girl in the classroom at North Beach Elementary school.

And: ''It was fun 'cause I like taking pictures,'' said Samara Usmani-Smith, 6. ``You never get to see your fingerprints on the computer.''

See kids, helping Big Brother gather your personal data can be fun!

But now for the coup de grâce!

Herald writer Kathryn Wexler and videographer Emily Michot have found a "spa" where young girls learn how to be snotty little divas.

In the video, Adriana Cohen, the owner of Le Petite Spa explains, somewhat inarticulately, that she was deprived of the spa experience as a child.

So now she wants every young girl to experience how refreshing and relaxing it can be to put cucumber slices over their eyes.

Never mind that these little girls will probably turn into self-absorbed, materialistic divas soon enough. Cohen wants to speed that process up.

Some of her "patrons" are as young as 4 years-old.

To Wexler's credit, early on in her story she does include a view opposing this sort of nonsense:

Diane Levin, a professor of education at Wheelock College in Boston and an expert on societal influences on children, thinks places like Le Petite are damaging to young girls.

"When you're talking about a 4-year-old going to a spa or getting spiffed up and everyone says, `you look so pretty,' they learn that's what you do to be successful. They're not going to develop to their fullest potential if they think the most important thing is how they look," she said.

I'm also proud of our government for not negotiating with the pirates, otherwise known as terrorists on the seas. Paying ransom only perpetuates the problem, as so many other countries have found out, the hard way.

Maybe the pirates will think twice about the next passing ship, especially if it is flying the US Flag.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

The day after the new South Pointe Park on South Beach opened I posted a comment made by a Miami Beach police officer about the park possibly attracting vandals and homeless people.

I wrote a note to Hilda Fernandez, Miami Beach Assistant City Manager asking what steps the city was taking to prevent the park from falling victim to graffiti taggers and hordes of homeless campers.

Today she responded:

Prior to the opening of South Pointe Park, and as customary for the opening of any new city park, City staff developed an operating plan that encompasses everything from security, park rules, sanitation, parking, maintenance, programming, homeless prevention, graffiti remediation, etc.

As part of the development of the operating plan, staff from Parks, Parking, Public Works/Sanitation, Public Works/Property Maintenance, Homeless Coordination, Code Compliance, Police, Public Works/Environmental, Planning, Asset Management, and Fire/Ocean Rescue met on-site to walk the park and physically observe the unique characteristics of the park, and ensure that the operating plan included the approach to address any potential issues.

(One example was identifying the lack of deterrents for skateboarders to use the benches and portions of the cutwalk for “grinding.” As a result of the walk-through, metal tabs were added to the benches to prevent this from occurring).

Operating issues addressed in the plan included, among others, homeless outreach, security to enforce prohibited activities, park hours, and the extent of programming at the park.

The proposed operating plan was presented to the City Commission’s Neighborhoods/Community Affairs Committee for their review and direction, and is undergoing further revisions in response to their input.

At present, security staffing has been scheduled in a manner to ensure maximum coverage in the evening hours. Daytime security services are supplemented by the on-site Parks staff, while Code Compliance staff is monitoring the park as part of their route.

Police has included drive-bys in their operational plan, and our Homeless Coordination Office is monitoring the park to ensure that no homeless encampments/sleeping areas are created.

We have not had any issues in the short time the park has been open, but know that consistent monitoring is essential to ensure that these issues do not crop up.

Thank you for your interest in this park. I hope you have been able to go in the evening, as the lights look remarkable.

We here at Random Pixels want you to know that we're always looking out for you! Or to borrow a phrase from those TV consumer reporters: "Random Pixels is on your side!"

On Saturday I posted an item about the parents of a 4-year-old boy who are suing the makers of Crocs because the child "nearly lost a toe after his foot got stuck in a Miami International Airport escalator."

Well, this morning your government sprung into action. Want proof?

Below is the entry on my blog's visitor activity log that shows someone at the Consumer Product Safety Commission spent a little time reading up on those dangerous Crocs, landing on my blog after doing a Google search.

The entry shows that the person visited my blog at 7:21 am! They get to work early at the CPSC!

We at Random Pixels are flattered that the government rergards us as the ultimate authority on safety issues affecting the American public. But if the CPSC bureaucrats are relying on us to keep abreast of dangerous products, they're in big trouble!________Number of Entries: 2Entry Page Time: 6th April 2009 07:21:23Visit Length: Browser: IE 7.0OS WinXPResolution: 1024x768

Saturday, April 04, 2009

"The family of a 4-year-old boy who nearly lost a toe after his foot got stuck in a Miami International Airport escalator in March is suing the popular rubber clogs company Crocs, Inc., saying the shoe had no warning feet could be sucked into the machines."

Perhaps the kid should counter-sue his parents for making him wear such ugly-ass shoes in the first place!

Almost makes me yearn for the less-complicated reign of Dwight Lauderdale. The only thing they were able to nail him with was the fact he dyed his mustache and "has had several hair implant procedures." (Miami Herald, June 11, 2001)

Good one Joan; things were starting to get a little boring around here!

Florida possesses more wetlands than any other state except Alaska, yet since 1990 more than 84,000 acres have been lost to development despite presidential pledges to protect them. How and why the state's wetlands are continuing to disappear is the subject of "Paving Paradise". Journalists Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite spent nearly four years investigating the political expedience, corruption, and negligence on the part of federal and state agencies that led to a failure to enforce regulations on developers. They traveled throughout the state, interviewed hundreds of people, dug through thousands of documents, and analyzed satellite imagery to identify former wetlands that were now houses, stores, and parking lots. Exposing the unseen environmental consequences of rampant sprawl, Pittman and Waite explain how wetland protection creates the illusion of environmental protection while doing little to stem the tide of destruction. What is happening to Florida's 'protected' wetlands?

Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen says, "This is an exhaustive, timely and devastating account of the destruction of Florida's wetlands, and the disgraceful collusion of government at all levels. It's an important book that should be read by every voter, every taxpayer, every parent, every Floridian who cares about saving what's left of this precious place."

NYT Mag editor Gerald Marzorati on what's required of a writer doing a long-form magazine piece: "Weeks and weeks of reporting. Hanging out with the subject of your piece, hoping some scene will emerge that because of where it is and what the dialogue is, will reveal that subject. ... And all this time, of course, costs money. A typical cover story in the Times Magazine, when you add up what we pay the author and what the expenses for travel are --- and this leaves out the editing and fact-checking costs, the photography, and so on -- the tally is north of $40,000, and often, if a war zone is involved, considerably more."

The Boston Globe spent more than $1 million to investigate sexual abuse of children by priests, editor Marty Baron said at the University of Oregon. When Baron was at the Miami Herald in 2000, it cost the paper $850,000 to do an audit of the Florida vote count. Tony Ridder, then Knight Ridder CEO, paid the bill "without complaint," said Baron. "How many newspaper executives would do now what he did then?"